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Redfin Housing Demand Index Virtually Flat from July to August Due to Continued Inventory Shortage

The number of Redfin customers touring and writing offers was basically even from July to August, but increased year over year

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NASDAQ:RDFN) — The Redfin Housing Demand Index remained virtually flat, up slightly from 126 in July to 127 in August, according to Redfin (www.redfin.com), the next-generation real estate brokerage. Still, the Demand Index increased 27.7 percent year over year. The Demand Index is adjusted for Redfin’s market share growth.

The Demand Index is based on thousands of Redfin customers requesting home tours and writing offers. A level of 100 represents the historical average for the three-year period from January 2013 to December 2015.

Across the 15 metros covered by the Demand Index, there were 13.9 percent fewer homes for sale in August than there were a year prior, and there was a 2.7 percent decline in new listings. August marked the 27th consecutive month of year-over-year inventory declines in these markets.

“High consumer confidence and low interest rates have powered homebuyer demand, but too-low inventory has constrained home sales all year,” said Redfin chief economist Nela Richardson. “The Federal Reserve is now setting the stage for a slow, steady increase in mortgage rates in October by beginning to sell its mortgage portfolio. Fall buyers are likely to face slightly higher financing costs in addition to strong price growth.”

The seasonally adjusted number of buyers requesting home tours and writing offers remained flat from July to August, decreasing 0.8 percent and increasing 0.1 percent respectively. Compared to last year, 42.3 percent more buyers requested tours in August and 8.2 percent more wrote offers.

At the metro level, Oakland had the largest Demand Index increase in August, up 29 percent from July and 43 percent year over year. Inventory was down 30 percent year over year and new listings fell 5.3 percent.

“August has traditionally been one of the slowest months in Oakland for homebuyer activity as people go on vacation and finish up their family activities before the kids head back to school,” said Redfin Oakland agent Tom Hendershot. “This year, August demand has really ramped up compared to July, and we expect September to be a very active month as long as more new inventory hits the market.”

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is the next-generation real estate brokerage, combining its own full-service agents with modern technology to redefine real estate in the consumer's favor. Founded by software engineers, Redfin has the country's #1 brokerage website and offers a host of online tools to consumers, including the Redfin Estimate, the automated home-value estimate with the industry's lowest published error rate for listed homes. Homebuyers and sellers enjoy a full-service, technology-powered experience from Redfin real estate agents, while saving thousands in commissions. Redfin serves more than 80 major metro areas across the U.S. The company has closed more than $50 billion in home sales.

For more information or to contact a local Redfin real estate agent, visit www.redfin.com. To learn about housing market trends and download data, visit the Redfin Data Center. To be added to Redfin's press release distribution list, subscribe here. To view Redfin's press center, click here.